


Love Next Door

by Kathincolour



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Alcohol, Anxiety, Boy's Love, Boys In Love, Dorks in Love, Explicit Language, Falling In Love, Fantasy, First Love, Fluff, Happy Ending, Humor, Kissing, LGBT, Love, Love Story, M/M, Magic, Mild Sexual Content, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Neighbours, Original Character(s), Original Story - Freeform, Relationship(s), Romance, Romantic Comedy, Self Confidence Issues, Supernatural - Freeform, Supernatural Elements, a lot of kissing though, also self realisation and introspective junk, artist, cute love story, gay relationship, if you are looking for a cute gay love story this is it, mild homophobia, mlm, no explicit sex scenes, not a slow build at all, very gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-10-01 13:50:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10191323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kathincolour/pseuds/Kathincolour
Summary: Jay Edwards moved to the city to forget the past and create a new identity, but instead all he finds is a coffee addiction and many unfortunate mistakes. Upon moving to yet another apartment after being kicked out for the third time, he discovers that he has an intriguing neighbour in the apartment across from him. He meets Ash, the alluring and mysterious man with blue hair who sparks his curiosity. Follow their journey as they fall in love, and both discover that their purpose in life had been right inside them all along.Updates weekly (fridays)- This novella is already complete, it will be uploaded chapter by chapter (about 26 chapters total).





	1. New Neighbour

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first finished novella!!  
> I hope you enjoy it as much as i do (still- after like 2 months). This is already complete and i'll be uploading weekly (on Friday/Saturday depending on your time zone).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter playlist: https://goo.gl/1QUqZU

Gavin Edwards never liked his name. Even when his parents would coo it to him in his cot as a baby, he would cry mercilessly when they mentioned it. Gavin was a name for an elderly man born in the 1930s. Whereas this Gavin was born on the threshold of the 1990s, a detail he liked to put across when possible.

For most of his life, he had lived in a quiet suburban paradise, where good natured boys grew up and married good natured girls. They finished high school and studied for some wasteful amount of time, gained some fancy degree and had three kids. Done. Finished. No adventure, no excitement, no  _ experimentation. _ This did not appeal to Gavin at all. 

So once he finished high school- barely scraping above a pass- he moved to the city. He legally changed his name to Jay, lost all contact with his school friends and family, and got a job part-time at a fast food joint (which didn’t last long). He let his dirty-blonde hair grow down to his shoulders –which did, in fact, suit him better than a bowl-cut- and proceeded to tie it into a messy ponytail most days of the week. 

Life was pretty good for Jay. Most of his weekdays were spent at work, It wasn’t the best money but he didn’t really need much. Weekends were spent at bars, nightclubs, or at home on the couch. Except along the way he had knocked up the only girl he had ever slept with.

Tahlia had become one of his only friends. They had both been drunk at the time, so there had never been any love there, just lust and stupidity. The previous year, the first year he had been living in the city, he had met Tahlia. She had been his co-worker at the fast food place before he eventually lost that job. That was the only night they spent together. Jay didn't even want to and he definitely wasn't supposed to, but he had wanted to prove something. Jay was, is, gay. He had never really liked girls the same way other guys seemed to, but he kept that fact to himself and repressed it in his younger days. He had known he was different even from middle school, when he refused to kiss a girl who had dragged him behind one of the school buildings. It started with simple teasing, then mocking, then threats. Perhaps even in his move to the city from the toxicity of his home town, the need to prove that he was normal prevailed. He didn't want to accept that he was not normal.   
  
Tahlia -and enough people to count on one hand- knew his preference, he didn't really like to advertise it. Why? He didn't even know himself, he wasn't entirely afraid of what other people would think; he knew he had left most of the homophobes behind in his hometown. Maybe, he was afraid of what would happen to him if he lived as an open book.   
  
Anyway, Tahlia was understandably ruffled by the fact he was gay since she had slept with him in the first place, but she was a reasonable, sensible woman. She knew that they had both made a mistake that night. She didn't expect him to marry her or somehow fall in love with her just because she was pregnant. To his relief she soon managed to find a steady boyfriend and his guilt was offset. She had even decided to keep the child, for reasons not quite known to Jay. Fortunately, she only expected the occasional cheque of money from him and a visit to see his daughter. This, Jay could deal with. Still, it would take a long time for him to finally realise the reality of the situation: that he had a child.

 

Jay had been living in the city for two years and had lived in various apartments and hovels. He now had a job at a music store on the corner of a busy intersection, in between a coffee shop and second-hand bookstore. Once again he had been kicked out of a place because most landlords didn’t appreciate his ‘sass’ talk and sarcasm, as well as his frequently misplaced rent. Another reason why he couldn’t keep a child was his frequent house moves, this was the second since his child had been born.

He had quickly found another residence in the huge city he now called home. It was only a couple of blocks away from his work and in quite a good condition; It even had working plumbing and electricity, and no sign of vermin.

The first day after he had moved in was quite an unusual day. Tahlia came over with her piano-playing boy-next-door boyfriend David, Jay’s daughter being babysat by Tahlia’s mother. Even after so long, thinking of  _ his daughter  _ was a foreign and scary concept.

There was friendly chit-chat, beer drinking on his muddy-brown sofa, and help with furniture arrangements. Nothing out of the ordinary.

When they left, Jay slid his fingers through his hair in exhaustion and fell down onto the sofa. The weight of so much social interaction kept his eyes from staying open. He could have made himself coffee but ironically, he didn’t have the energy. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Startled, Jay leaped up and swore, thinking it was Tahlia with another interior decorating idea. He opened the door slowly and stared, thinking his eyes were deceiving him.

  
There stood the most handsome man he may have ever seen. Tousled, vivid Electric-blue hair with turquoise, deeply set eyes to match, he was magnificent. His full lips were half raised into an adoring smirk which would soon become his trademark. He was angular, like a marble sculpture, his rigid yet slim jawline- lightly covered with neat stubble- giving way to sharp shoulders .    
  
Yet his expression was warm, inviting. Even his standing pose, one arm leaning on the door frame, revealing his slim figure, sent Jay's heart skipping.

“Hey, I hope I haven’t come at a bad time,” the mystery man said smoothly, still with the same amused smirk. Jay quickly recollected himself and blurted out:

“N-No not at all.”  _ Smooth _ , he sighed inwardly. 

“I uh- heard you moved in yesterday so I thought I would introduce myself, trust me, no one else in this building is nice enough for that.” He laughed evenly for a moment and Jay found himself smiling, “I’m Ash by the way.” In that second jay thought to himself how it was ironic that a man with blue hair and eyes was named  _ Ash. _

“Jay” he replied, shaking ash’s soft, tan hand. He felt his own hands begin to sweat as his anxiety rose, he wasn’t usually this nervous around strangers.

“Nice stud,” Ash said, gesturing with one hand to his nose. It took Jay a second to realise he meant his blue-studded nose piercing, “I was thinking of getting one myself.”

“Oh yeah, they are a bit hard to get used to at first but you would look great with one-” Really _Jay? Isn’t that a bit forward?_ He thought. There was a small awkward silence as he tried to think of what to do next. “Do you um, want a drink?” he said, opening the door wide.

Ash pondered for a second before answering, “Ah yeah what the heck. I should probably be the one offering, though-“

“No, no don’t worry I have plenty.”

Ash walked in and looked around for a few moments with an outwardly inquisitive look before realising with a start that he was being forward himself. Jay watched nervously as Ash took a seat on the couch, before he moved into his small, sparsely furnished kitchen. He looked at his reflection in the microwave door and tried to right himself, “I should have ironed my shirt or something…” he muttered to himself as he readjusted his ripped, plaid shirt and smoothed a wild strand of hair. He stopped himself.  _ He probably sleeps with women,  _ he thought gloomily. He grabbed two cans from the tiny bar fridge and walked back into the room. Ash was still sitting on the couch in a relaxed fashion, his arm stretched out across the back. 

_ I want his arm to be around me _ , he thought. He knew he was being stupid, obsessing over a man he had just met, who probably wouldn’t even be attracted to him. Even if he also ‘swung  _ that _ way’, what would make him attracted to Jay? He was a misfit at best and a low-life at worst, with hair that really needed to be cut off. 

“So,” Jay said as he sat down on the armchair opposite the sofa. He handed Ash a beer, who took it gladly and smiled his beautiful smirk. “How long have you been in this block?”

“Hmm, hard to say. A couple of years I think.” Ash casually ruffled his already tousled hair, making more curled strands fall on his face.  _ His hair looks graceful like that, why can’t mine?  _  Jay tried hard not to stare at him, it was difficult. They continued talking back and forth like this for a good half an hour, with Jay feeling more and more comfortable as time went on. Ash lived in the apartment straight opposite him and he had a dang  _ hot tub _ . “I know it seems a bit extravagant,” he had said, “But I’ve been here for a while and the bath is just not big enough and well...a pool would probably be  _ too extravagant _ .” They both laughed at this.  _ Maybe he’s inviting me into it _ ? Jay thought,  _ surely he wouldn’t mention it otherwise.   _ Ash was intriguing and  _ sexy  _ but Jay tried not to think too much of that. He seemed to exude an air of mystery which made Jay incredibly curious. It wasn’t often that Jay was overcome by someone after just meeting them, but his new neighbour was just...different.

That night, long after Ash had left and Jay’s microwave dinner had gone cold, he lay sleeping on his rough single mattress, his phone in his outstretched hand still open on a music app. He dreamt of strange things; like licking coffee foam off Ash’s lips, and skinny dipping in his hot tub. How could he have developed such an infatuation after meeting a guy once? It really puzzled him, but he knew he had to see him again; he had to find out if anything could come from their eventual friendship. 

The next morning- a Monday- he awoke to shrill rock music coming from his phone alarm. It was seven o’clock and he had work. He dressed stiffly and half-consciously; his uniform was anything black, which Jay had plenty of. His coffee was mediocre. He didn’t have enough sugar to make up for the cheap instant brand that he had stocked. Maybe he would just buy one on his walk to work.

He quickly tied his slick hair into a spiky ponytail, leaving half-cut golden strands limp at the nape of his neck. He grabbed the rest of his coffee and work backpack, popped his headphones on and walked out his front door. As he turned to lock his door he dropped his keys beside him. Swearing under his breath, he leaned down to retrieve them. Before he could grab them though, a slender hand snatched them up first. Jay stood back up and was met with blue hair and a navy dressing gown, tied low so it revealed a V of bare skin. 

“Hey, thanks.” He said in slight bewilderment to Ash, who handed back the keys with a lingering movement. He seemed to appear out of nowhere; surely Jay would have noticed him come out of his door? Or had Jay been too flustered to notice him and the guy had been standing there the whole time? Nevertheless, Ash’s presence sent Jay’s heart flying up to his mouth.

“No problem, Heading off to work?”

“Uh-yeah.”

“Well, see you later then.” He replied nonchalantly and strolled back through his open apartment door. Jay stood there for a moment, the keys still in his frozen hand.  _ He’s a fucking magician _ , he almost said aloud. After Ash disappeared into his apartment, Jay thought he smelled the faint fragrance of cinnamon and freshly brewed coffee. His favourite scents. It was probably nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I want to emphasize that there's more to this than a love story- although that's the major plot.
> 
> I also have this published on Wattpad- if for some reason you want to support me there too :)) (@kathincolur)  
> Please share this everywhere if you like it so far! Or leave me a comment <3
> 
> Also follow me on tumblr, I have a writing dedicated blog now @storiesbykathryn where i'll be posting related stuff (ask me about this there). I also have a personal blog @kathincolour which is just a mess.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter playlist: https://goo.gl/wyJcpB

Work was boring, boring because Jay didn’t have free reign of the store speaker system that shift, and customer flow was incredibly slow. His co-worker just kept playing the same pop-electro mix the whole 6 hours he was working. The same upbeat and repetitive songs over and over again. Not to mention he kept thinking all the time about his attractive neighbour, who may or may not have put a spell on him. He even considered asking his uninteresting, female co-worker about it, but how would he even ask without revealing to her that he’s gay? 

_ “I’m asking for a friend”  _   
Nope.

He could ask Tahlia, but maybe that was inappropriate.

The walk back home that day was tiring, perhaps because it was his first time walking home from work instead of getting a bus or train. He was also grumpy; there had been hardly any customers and his co-worker had forced him into a conversation about her clingy boyfriend that didn’t interest him at all. That conversation had lasted the whole last hour. Getting back inside his building was a huge relief, even if it was much dimmer and darker than outside. Unfortunately, Ash was not there to greet him as he got to his door, as he had secretly hoped. He unlocked the door and threw down his satchel defiantly; it landed with a muffled thud. Then he dug his hand into the open zipped mouth of the bag and retrieved his phone. He planned to dial Tahlia’s number, after that he had no idea.

It rang 5 times before she answered, “Hey Jay, how’s it going?”

“Everything’s alright, you?”

“Yep all sweet here, I just fed the little one and she is sleeping peacefully,  _ thank god _ . Anyway did you need to ask me something?”  _ How did she know? _

“Actually yes, but if it’s inappropriate please just…stop me okay?” he said, pausing for a moment in case she decided she didn’t want to know.“There’s this guy who lives opposite me-”

“OH my gosh! Do you have a boyfriend already Jay? I HAVE to meet him!”

“No, NO, I don’t…I mean not yet anyway. Tahlia! Tahlia listen!” Jay shouted as she rambled on about how cute it would be to go on double dates. “I’m not sure if he’s  _ you know _ , into me.”

“Aww,” she fussed, “You have a crush.”

“Yeah, sure whatever, I have a crush. But I don’t know whether to…make a move or something. I don’t know if he likes guys.”

“Are you saying that you want me, a straight girl, to tell you if a guy is gay or not? Shouldn’t you know?”

“I don’t know” he sighed. He rubbed his face in frustration. She continued to talk on about how she didn’t have many gay friends besides him, and how the others had just met people at gay bars, but she was worried he would get hurt; it was hard to stop Tahlia once she had started on a rant. He continued to listen to her for at least 5 minutes before he interrupted. He knew that her boyfriend was at work most days of the week for a full 8 hours, he had to support three people after all. So, she didn’t have anyone else to talk to all day. “Tahlia, sorry but I don’t really want to have a high phone bill. I would keep listening but…well…”

“It’s alright” she sighed. “I better go too. Look I think you should just try your luck with this guy if you really like him, or at least start with being friends.”

“Thanks, Tahlia, I’ll let you know. Bye.” The phone clicked off and he slid it into his pocket.  _ More coffee _ , he thought, _ I need more coffee _ .

The next week formed a formidable pattern. Jay would wake up each morning, still half in dream land, still kissing Ash’s lips in his mind. He would shave, eat toast with peanut butter, make himself coffee, and tie his hair up without even combing it. Each morning he was greeted by a sleepy, bed-haired Ash in a dressing gown, who smiled knowingly at him as if there was something he was trying to say. It was like there was some one-sided inside joke that Jay didn’t understand.  _ Doesn’t he have a job?  _ He was strange. Strange but beautiful, so much so that Jay felt like his body turned to jelly and his anxiety was turned up to 100 when he so much as glimpsed him. 

Jay tried to act very nonchalant around him but it probably came across worse than he intended; he still wasn’t sure how to even approach Ash about how he felt. It was so much easier on television. In most tv shows he had watched, two people of the same sexual preference manage to easily find each other and rarely even question whether the other is straight or not, they just end up in bed together. It seemed so easy that way. He was not socially skilled enough to confidently stride in and assert himself in this kind of situation. He needed to remember to take it slow. Life didn’t need to revolve around the pursuit of love. He wasn’t exactly lonely, was he?

After work on the next Monday, Ash knocked on his door not long after he had stretched out on his sofa with his laptop balancing precariously on the surface of his elevated thighs. With a small huff, Jay jumped up and opened his door. At once he felt himself go all weak, his blood rushing to his face.  _ Bloody hell _ , he thought,  _ this is getting ridiculous. _

“Hello again.” Ash chimed. “You’re probably pretty sick of me now.”

“Never.” Jay found himself say. He instantly recoiled inwardly at his blatant declaration. If Ash had noticed how more-than-friends attracted to him Jay was, he didn’t show it. However, his lopsided smirk seemed to deepen in some small way.

“I just feel like we could be friends. You’re the only young person in this building. Seriously all the other residents are soo boring.”

Jay could only agree, considering he rarely saw any of his other neighbours. They were either boring looking business people, or retirees.

And so forth. Jay and Ash spent more time together in his apartment, where they seemed to talk about  _ anything and everything _ . The weather, current events, favourite alcoholic beverages, the state of the economy, the viability of being an internet star, trashy tv shows and movies. It was all very normal until Jay decided to ask where Ash had grown up as a child; Jay didn’t usually like talking about childhood, it brought up stale, bitter memories like bile in his throat. He felt like Ash was a large exception.

Ash was very vague in his answer, saying that he didn’t think Jay would know where his hometown was so he didn’t want to elaborate much. Nevertheless, he described rolling green hills, cobblestone streets, small cottages along coursing rivers and silent forests. When Jay asked where in the world this place was, he dismissed him with a wave of his hand and said: “Oh if I told you the place you wouldn’t know it, no one does.” Perhaps Ash also had a past he didn’t enjoy talking about. However, he thought that Ash’s home town would be a nice place to visit, unlike  _ Jay’s _ home town.

He wanted to be close enough to Ash so he could confide in him, so he could trust him, but he was too afraid of rejection. He felt like he was trying to swim to the surface of the ocean, but he was being weighed down like an anchor. The lack of oxygen was turning him insane; he wasn’t sure what would happen when he ran out of air to breathe.

By Friday afternoon, Jay was almost fully prepared to confront Ash and ask him out. He had deliberated enough and done enough internet searches to be somewhat satisfied with his plan; He was satisfied that if he was rejected, he could easily leave the city or the country if need be. He really hoped it wouldn’t come to that. On the walk home from the coffee shop after work, he formed countless sentences in his mind, but none seemed right. He decided once again to wing it. 

Unfortunately, that afternoon Ash wasn’t waiting for him outside his door. Jay went inside and deposited his satchel as usual, but instead of fetching his laptop and surfing the internet for hours on end, he sipped his cappuccino thoughtfully by his kitchen counter. After he finished his frothy deliciousness, he peeled off his work clothes. It was getting steadily hotter each day as spring ran into summer like a fiery wrecking ball. Along with the ever-present humidity haze of the city, and above average temperatures, Jay was feeling quite clammy.  _ Thanks, global warming.  _ The cool water from the shower pacified him more than the not so soothing coffee.

He dressed in his favourite band shirt that he had had since he was seventeen, which despite everything was not too ripped so it couldn’t be worn. He thought it looked somewhat cool.  _ Be casual, be friendly, and don’t try to be seductive. _ He didn’t even know how to be seductive.

He took a deep breath and opened his front door. His heart was hammering so pathetically in his chest.  _ Shut up or he’ll hear. _ To his surprise, Ash’s front door was already open and he was leaning against it, facing partially away. A strange redheaded woman dressed in fish-net tights, a tight-fitting skirt and a crop top that left little uncovered was standing next to him. They were close enough to be whispering and seemed like they didn’t want to be heard, Jay couldn’t breathe. They didn’t even see him at first and he managed to catch a clip of conversation,

“-It’ll be fine Darling,” Ash crooned. “So I’ll see you next week? Great.” And he  _ winked  _ at her. He grinned broadly, revealing a set of sparkling-white, straight teeth, and  _ winked  _ alluringly at the woman. She playfully pushed him on the shoulder and then sauntered away and down the stairs. That’s when Ash finally noticed Jay standing there, looking like a lost child. “Hey, Jay.”

“Oh-uh-hey.” And there it was again, that knowing smirk on Ash’s face. It teased Jay so much that it hurt. There was a moment’s silence, while Jay tried to collect himself and process what he had just seen. Ash was wearing a crisp white shirt, painfully unbuttoned at the top revealing a slim view of his lightly bronzed skin.

“Nice shirt by the way” He offered. Jay mumbled a thank you. “Did you want to talk to me…? Or were you heading out?”

Jay realised how he must have looked in that moment. He had opened his door and walked out, only to stop in front of Ash and say nothing, do nothing. _What an idiot I’m making of myself._ _Say something, anything._

“Uh, I was just heading out. Oh, I don’t have my keys…” 

So he awkwardly nodded a goodbye to Ash and shuffled back into his apartment. He fell in a heap on the floor against his door and closed his eyes. “I am such a fucking idiot. Why would he have liked me anyway?  _ Of course,  _ he sleeps with women!” In most of his mind, Jay had been prepared for rejection, but in the back of his subconscious, there was a small part of him that was sure Ash was attracted to him.  _ He could swing both ways… _ he thought, but he soon dashed that out of his mind. He was sure Ash had just been friendly with him, nothing more.  _ Why can’t I be content with friendship? What’s wrong with me?  _

Jay was spiralling down into himself, leaving reality behind for a darker, depressing image. He held his head in his hands and tried to bring himself back up.

He regained some strength and slipped on a random pair of sneakers. He grabbed his wallet, phone and keys and stuffed them in his pockets. Without any regard or thought, Jay stormed out his apartment building and into the real world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Jay.


	3. Despair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 playlist: https://goo.gl/aqjirZ  
> (There's only 2 songs there idk why i bothered)

He quickly found a popular nightclub that he could immerse himself in. He had about twenty five dollars he could kill. As he entered the bouncing club, he was hit with the smell of sweat, cologne and alcohol. The blaring sounds of yells clothed by techno/rave music filled his ears like an omen of what was to come. He pushed through the crowds and found a free barstool. A seemingly attractive male bartender served him up two pink, fizzy drinks that tasted like something his parents would never drink. He downed them in no time, and then felt the music’s insane pounding fill his heart like a contagious disease; he sensed himself get up automatically and join the swarm of humans, dancing like animals to the beat.

He danced with no one in particular- and simultaneously everyone- until the alcohol dropped from his head to his stomach. He sought refuge at another bar stool, not ordering another drink; he didn’t feel like drowning any deeper inside himself.

Suddenly an attractive young woman approached him; she looked him up and down while biting her lips. She had obviously been in the throng of people for a long time, she was shiny with moisture. Alike the woman at Ash’s apartment, this female was also scantily dressed, more so in fact than the prior. She placed a slender hand on his shoulder and bent down to whisper in his ear.

“Shall I buy you a drink  _ baby _ ?” she purred. It was obvious that she was very drunk. He couldn’t bring himself to amuse her, even for a few minutes to get a free drink.

“No thanks.” 

“Oh  _ come on,  _ I’ll buy you something and we’ll go around the back. It’ll be fun…”

“I’m not interested.”

“Why?” she slurred, “you got a wife? A couple of kids or something back home? They won’t know.”

“Seriously I can’t, you’ll have to find someone else.” He felt very exasperated all of a sudden.

“I can see you want me, so why don’t you just take me?”

“I like men.” He said shortly. Her mouth parted slightly in surprise and then fell in dismay.

“Damn! But you’re hot…” she said in annoyance and wobbled away back into the crowd. Jay had to excuse the woman, she was obviously too intoxicated to have any sort of rationality. He was quite surprised at himself for what he had said; he rarely even told strangers that he was gay. In this situation though, it was kind of necessary.

Shortly after the woman was gone, Jay felt himself grow fed up with the bouncing strobe lights and deafening dance music; he got up from his isolated stool and walked back home. It was only ten o'clock and he was exhausted.

When he returned home to his dark and lonely apartment he immediately stripped down to his underwear in the main room. He staggered past his kitchen and into his bedroom, completely missing the piece of paper that had been slid under his door. He collapsed on to his bed and fell asleep almost straight away; he slipped away with only one distorted image in his mind: Ash’s face and his blue eyes winking at him.  _ I have to forget him. _

He dreamt of dancing women in lingerie. Ash was kissing them, falling all over them like an excited puppy. Jay wanted to turn, walk away, but he couldn’t. He had to stand watching him lust over them, he wanted to vomit, and his heart was beating like the rave music against his rib cage.  He awoke the next morning with sweat staining his skin and his stomach turned over uneasily inside him. He was hungry; he hadn’t eaten since the previous afternoon.

Jay rolled off his mattress and went into the bathroom. He stared at his sleepy form in the mirror for a few seconds before splashing his face with icy cold water from the tap. He threw on some track pants and moved to the kitchen and put bread in the toaster. He roamed aimlessly around the main room until he spotted a random, ripped piece of paper sitting half-inside his door. He picked it up and saw that a few sentences were scrawled on it in blue pen:

_ Hey, Jay, I thought it was about time I invited you into my apartment for a few drinks. I’ll be waiting at lunch time tomorrow, hope you get this message. _

_ Ash _

“Shit.” He muttered to himself. He heard the toast pop and ambled back into the kitchen, re-reading the note in his hand. As he spread peanut butter on the bread he wondered what he should do. He could pretend he didn’t see the note and not turn up, or turn up and act like nothing had changed.

After a strong cup of water, he had another shower and dressed in the best clothes he had. This incorporated a light blue polo shirt and black jeans. He wasn’t quite accustomed to wearing light coloured clothing, he didn’t think it suited him; he preferred the contrast of his light-blonde hair along with the stark blackness of everything else he wore. He even combed his hair and put it half back in a more feminine hairstyle than he would normally have time for. He certainly went to too much trouble over his appearance for a man he had only known for such a short time.

He wasn’t entirely sure what lunchtime was defined as, so he decided to knock on his door at exactly midday. The door opened and revealed a beaming Ash, blue hair smoothed back into curled waves, and clad in the same button-up ivory shirt; the shirt that perfectly showed off the outline of his abdomen. This time, Jay was the first to speak. “Hello, Ash.” He said carefully.

“Hey, I’m glad you’re here, come in.”

Jay entered gingerly and gasped at what he saw. Ash’s apartment was more like an open plan house than a one bedroom  _ apartment _ . His main room was huge; he had a wide-screen TV, a large stereo system, a pair of leather couches and a square  _ hot tub _ in the corner of the room. He hadn’t been lying, but how could that even be allowed? He could see the clean, white-finished kitchen which was framed by a small but impressive bar. The walls were a light blue, a sky on a summer day, with framed paintings of landscapes adorning them. He could see the main room narrow into a hallway in one corner and it seemed to go on forever. Had he just stepped into a portal that led to a massive mansion?

“This place is magnificent! It’s  _ huge _ !” 

“I know.” Ash replied coyly, “that’s how I like it.”

They both sat down on opposite couches and shared a few glasses of fancy champagne. He wasn’t normally a champagne kind of guy, but the fruity taste was like nothing he had tasted before. He would have to ask Ash where he got it. Ash chatted more than jay, mostly about the intricacies of his magnificent living room and his strict way of choosing decor. The situation was almost too relaxed for Jay to bear, perhaps it was Ash’s room that made him feel this way. They laughed together and ate food together, having become akin to great friends in such a short time of two weeks. It was bittersweet for Jay. He felt so comfortable with Ash but he so painfully wanted it to be more; he wanted to know what it felt like to lie under the crook of his arm, he wanted to feel the texture of his lips.

Picking up one of the delicate looking mini quiches on the table in front of him, Jay marvelled at the apparent cooking skills he must have, which Jay definitely did not. He wasn’t well acquainted with gourmet food of any kind, he could never afford to dine at any of the nicer restaurants in the city, and his parents sure as hell never cooked anything like it.

“Did you make all these then?” He asked, “They’re amazing.”

He noticed a faint blush of embarrassment colour Ash’s cheeks. He nodded.

“You could say I have a lot of spare time to…experiment.”

Jay felt like there was more to this answer than what was actually said, but he didn’t feel confident enough to push for more. A lot of what Ash said seemed to be layered in innuendo, or perhaps it was his overactive imagination.

After An hour of idle chat and eating, he couldn’t take it anymore. He was struggling to cope with his feelings and not obsess over every movement or word Ash spoke. It was almost tiring to repress his feelings.

“This was really nice but I better go, I have some stuff to do.”

“Oh,” Ash said, obviously disappointed. “Okay then.”

They both got up and Jay walked to the door. He was about to open it when he felt Ash’s hand on his arm.    
“uh-wait…” he said.

Jay turned uncertainly; Ash was very close to him. Suddenly he heard himself start to speak,

“Has anyone ever told you, you have nice- “ He was about to say  _ eyes, nice eyes _ . Before he could finish, Ash pressed him up against the door with a thud. He felt the frame shake. He thought Ash was trying to hurt him, he thought he was going to kill him. That was until Jay realised Ash had his tongue down his throat.

He was  _ kissing  _ him, full on necking him. Ash had his whole body pressing  _ against _ Jay. He could faintly feel his erratic heartbeat matching Ash’s. He relaxed into Ash, easing into his firm lips and wrapping his arms around the back of his neck. Ash moved his palms from either side of the door to underneath Jay’s long hair, just behind his ears. 

Jay felt warm, so warm that he could never be cold again. Slowly they moved in unison -still wrapped around each other- across the wall. Vaguely, Jay could feel the rough banging of his back on the hard wall as they kissed passionately, but it didn’t matter.

Soon, though, Ash pulled away and Jay opened his eyes slowly thinking that he was going to wake up in his own bed, alone. 

“I-I don’t know what came over me…I’m sorry.” Ash stuttered, placing a hand on his forehead as if in pain. His smile had faded. 

“W-what why are you apologising I-“

Ash stepped back. He didn’t look in Jay’s direction, instead looking to the side with his bright eyes half closed.

“You can go…”

Jay was despairing. What had happened just now was amazing; did Ash not feel the same way? Did he make a mistake? 

He made a noise as he went to say something, something like “What’s wrong,” or “I like you a lot,” but he couldn’t. His brain was screaming at him to leave, to not make it worse. He felt tears spring into his eyes as his panic reached dangerous levels, and without another word he turned and opened the door. It took the four steps to enter his own apartment for him to breakdown. As he shut the door behind him, he immediately slid down it, sitting bunched up on himself at the bottom.  _ Why do I always fuck up? Doesn’t matter if it’s sleeping with someone or moving house or talking to strangers or having friends I always screw it up.  _ He doesn’t cry for long, he’s not a crier, he’s more of a sulker.

His lips were still tingling.

In order to properly sulk for the rest of the day, he orders pizza and watches countless sad, romantic movies while lying on the couch. It’s the only way he can escape reality and the darkness of his thoughts until the fog clears. 

By 10 p.m. he feels his eyes begin to droop, and he laments his predicament through frequent noises of despair. The movie that is currently showing is one where the protagonist is going to die of cancer, but then of course she falls in love and gets better. But, her lover then dies of cancer instead. It’s the sort of bittersweet tone that really gets Jay into the proper depressive mood to be able to cry himself to sleep. Thankfully, he’s too tired to pay attention and instead he shuts off the laptop before it concludes and shuffles to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :O :O
> 
> Things are gettin steamy, will this continue???  
> Also yeah i know that reference at the end was bad (I actually like tfios okk).
> 
> (Don't forget to leave a kudos if you are enjoying this :))


	4. You're a what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 (and later chapters) playlist: https://goo.gl/Lr4REg

It isn’t until the next afternoon that Jay sees Ash. He had actually managed to get himself out of the house early to buy groceries from the local market. As well as groceries, he bought a new print to hang on his wall; A photo of the city at night. Admittedly, after seeing Ash’s amazingly furnished apartment he was jealous and a little ashamed. It wasn’t like he had any personal photos to put up to fill his bare walls. Perhaps when his daughter grew up a bit more?

 

As he walked down the hallway back to his apartment he noticed with a start that Ash was standing outside his door, arms folded, looking at the ground as if deep in thought. Strangely, he noticed that Ash’s hair was noticeably more lacklustre than it usually was, sitting more flat on his head.

Jay stopped a few metres from him and the door.

“Hey.” He said.

Ash looked up and he saw that the man had dark circles under his eyes. Had he stayed up late too, thinking over what happened?

“Hi.”

Jay approached the door and for an awkward second didn’t know what to say. Ash didn’t help as he also stayed silent, half blocking the door.

“Did you want to come in…?”

Ash nodded, with still no smile appearing.

 

The two men walked into the room and Jay deposited the shopping bags near the kitchen. Deciding to act casual, he pulled the new print from the bag.

“I bought this new print today, I thought it might liven up the room a little.” He walked back into view. “What do you think?”

Ash was standing next to the couch, his hands in his trouser pockets, his dark purple shirt creasing as he slouched. He was not himself, Jay decided.

“Yeah, it’s nice.” He replied, with no emotion in his voice.

Jay couldn’t take it. If he had said the same thing yesterday, Ash would have blabbered on for ages about it. This man who he was seemingly infatuated with because he was always smiling and joking, was now like Jay, gloomy and lacklustre. It was decidedly worse than Ash just rejecting him outright.

 

“Are-are you-“

“I’m sorry, okay?” Ash blurted out. He turned to look at Jay with a fiery expression. “I couldn’t control myself, I shouldn’t have attacked you like that it wasn’t…right. I didn’t even ask. I couldn’t stand looking at you afterwards because of how aggressive I was. I’m sorry I just… I want you so much.”

 

Jay was speechless. He stood, agape, Ash’s words running through his mind over and over even as he had heard them. It was unprecedented, unexpected. _But no_ it wasn’t. Ash had kissed him yesterday. Ash had pulled away because he thought he had done the wrong thing. Ash had told Jay to leave because he thought that was the right thing to do. _For once I didn’t screw up._

 

Jay walked towards the man, who was hiding his face with his hand. He gently pulled the hand away and leaned in to kiss him. At first startled, Ash froze, but soon he relaxed and put his arms around Jay. He couldn’t breathe again, but he loved it. The feeling of their noses, just touching, and their knees…It was the most amazing feeling he had ever felt.

After some time Ash pulled him along to the couch. Ash fell on to it and Jay followed suit. There Ash half sat up and somewhat cradled him, their eyes closed and lips searching automatically for each other. Between kisses and with a rasping breath Jay said: “Pinch me.” Ash stopped halfway to his lips and opened his eyes.

 

“Wha-huh?” he breathed in confusion,

“I think I’m dreaming.”

Once again he wasn’t sure if it was reality. He was waiting to open his eyes and be back in his bed. Ash let out a stifled laugh and placed his lips once more resolutely on his.

As he pulled away he murmured, “Me too.”

 

Jay finally opened his eyes and saw Ash’s own cobalt, jewel eyes looking down softly at him; his hair was ruffled and his cheeks pink. Jay readjusted himself so he was lying with his cheek against Ash’s chest, just above his heart. His arms were still clutching him around his neck, his fingers playing with stray strands of wispy hair. “Since I first saw you, I’ve wanted to do that…properly,” Ash told him, with his lopsided smirk playing upon his moist lips.

 

“Same,” was all Jay could reply at first. Then he remembered the reason why he _thought_ he _couldn’t_ do that. “But…before yesterday I thought you were- I thought you were straight.”

 

“What made you think that?” Ash asked. He started to stroke Jay’s hair, which felt absolutely wonderful.

 

“I saw you with that woman,” he replied sheepishly, “You said something about seeing her again next week, and you winked at her. It- it looked like you were more than just _acquaintances._ ”

 

Ash laughed again, “She was a customer, not a lover. Besides, I’m more...bisexual with a strong preference for men, I guess.”

_Bisexual. Of course._

 

“A customer?” he wasn’t quite sure what kind of business he could be running.

 

“Well…” Ash sighed, “I’m kind of a warlock.”

 

This time it was Jay’s turn to laugh. “I did think you had put a spell on me or something. So I suppose that explains it then?” he added sarcastically.

 

“I’m serious.” He lamented in a hurt voice. “I really am. I make and sell brews and tonics to people, like remedies and stuff.”

 

“ _Really?_ Is that what you can do? Make like magic medicines and concoctions?”

 

“Well no, not _just_ that.” He said. “I can also contact the _otherworld_ , and manifest subtle things like optical illusions. My room is kind of an optical illusion, from the outside it looks like it’s the same size as the other apartments but inside it’s as big as I want it to be.”

 

“Whoa.” Jay breathed. He never thought that this mysterious guy would have been this _freaky._ Was it strange that his powers only made him seem sexier? “So what is the _otherworld_?”

 

“It’s the world beyond ours, of spirits; they are the universe, everything that we can’t comprehend ourselves- beyond this earthly realm.”

 

He was finding it hard to concentrate on his voice, because of the way the guy was playing with his hair.

 

“…And so that in English?”

 

He sighed with a smile. “The spirits can see everything that happens in our world, and they know pretty much everything there is to know.” He sat up a bit more and started to curl Jay’s hair around his fingers. “I can get into contact with the _otherworld_ and kind of indirectly ask questions or seek guidance.”

 

“Interesting…” Jay said. “…I knew there was something incredible about you.”

 

“Pshaw.”

 

“I’m serious. What the hell, you’re just…” Jay couldn’t find an adequate adjective to describe him. “…Splendiferous”

 

Ash chuckled.

 

This moment was utterly perfect and he didn’t ever want it to end. The rise and fall of Ash’s chest was like a silent serenade. For a few minutes they lay together silently, Ash placed his arms around Jay’s back and rested his cheek on top of Jay’s head.

 

When Jay finally broke the sweet silence, his voice was hesitant “How-How did you know? How did you know I was into you?”

 

Ash deliberated for a few moments before answering him, “This may sound strange, but I asked.” He replied, “I asked the _otherworld_ whether you were trustworthy because I was interested in you. They don’t tell you in _words_ what you want to know, they kind of give you a sense of what the answer is. I sensed that you were connected to me, or _were going_ to be connected to me. So I took that as an okay to…to…”

 

“Make-out with me?” Jay questioned with a grin. He looked up at Ash whose face was bright red, he pressed his lips together.

 

“That was pretty hasty of me.”

 

“Well, you should be hasty all the time then.” Jay laughed and reached up to plant his lips on Ash’s. Ash responded immediately and moved his stationary hands up to Jay’s hair and tangled his fingers there. Passion burned between them again like an open flame. The passion seemed to quench Jay’s need to breathe; oxygen wasn’t even a concern to him anymore.

 

But unfortunately, he had to come back to the reality of the living. With a sharp intake of air, Jay pulled away and watched Ash chuckle at him. Ash squeezed Jay and murmured, “I’m so glad I met you.”

 

It was almost half past three when they finally broke out of each other’s arms; Jay had fallen into a light slumber. He woke to see Ash looking down on him. He had moved Jay’s head onto his lap and had sat himself up on the couch. Ash looked down on Jay tenderly and smoothed back the blonde hair from his face.

 

“Things can change so quickly, right?” he whispered softly, Jay smiled faintly up at him.

 

“I know.”

 

Jay needed to drink some coffee, or just recollect himself with something particularly liquid. He lifted himself off Ash and proceeded to walk towards the kitchen groggily. He stopped at the entranceway when he heard a small, sad voice call him,

 

“Is that it…?” he turned back and saw Ash’s angelic face look at him sadly. Surely, he didn’t think he was going to walk away from him and not come back?

 

“I need some fuel.” He moved into the kitchen and started to boil water. Ash got up and moved around slowly and observed everything in sight in the main room without hesitation this time. Jay’s apartment was regrettably less glorious than his, but the array of mismatched furniture and lack of personal photos was enough to spark Ash’s curiosity and detail the finer aspects of Jay’s personality.

 

When Jay walked back out into the main room with two cups of steaming java, Ash was sitting in his brown and red threadbare armchair, across from the couch they had just been lying on. “Hey, that’s my seat.” He joked and placed the cups of coffee on the coffee table. Ash simply smirked at him and patted his lap. Jay felt his face redden.

 

“We can easily share…” he purred. Jay still felt strange about the whole thing, they had only just started to get physically intimate. Ash was so confident; he wondered how _old_ he was.

 

“You sure don’t take things slow…” He mumbled as he sat down awkwardly sideways on his lap.

 

“Yeah well, I don’t see the point in delaying things…that’s not fun.”

 

Ash took Jay’s arms and manoeuvred them so they were around his neck. Ash reached around and held him at his waist. Coffee forgot, Jay leaned down and kissed Ash, his hair hiding their adjoining lips. Once again Jay felt a sense of perfection, as their lips danced in a fiery tango. He could have easily stayed there forever. But suddenly Ash withheld his lips and Jay found himself blindly searching for them, his eyes still closed. Ash unpinned his hand that had been tightly gripping at Jay’s rough, cotton polo and leaned across to the slightly cooler cup of coffee. Jay opened his eyes slowly and leaned back from Ash, once again overwhelmed by the moment.

 

“So…did you put a magic spell on me?” Jay asked smirking as Ash almost choked on his drink in laughter.

 

“No, no that was all your own doing. Besides, I don’t usually _need_ extra help.”

 

This was why he was so attracted to this man. He was _so enjoyable_ , no one had ever made him laugh so much and feel so comfortable. There he was, Jay, who had never dated anyone nor been so infatuated with anyone, sitting in the lap of a fucking warlock. How could his life change so quickly, and for the better?

 

“We should go out tonight.” He stated very matter-of-factly. He brushed back his hair and sipped at his own strongly-brewed coffee. Ash placed his striped mug back down and looked seriously at Jay,

“Are you asking me on a date, perhaps?”

 

“Maybe,” Jay replied warily. “I mean-yes, yes I am.”

 

Ash laughed and Jay watched as his cheeks turned slightly rosy. “Well, I accept. Let’s go have some fun.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :oooo ain't that cute? See I told you it wasn't a slow burn.
> 
> I'm probably changing to a 2 updates per week schedule, because i'm very impatient and 2000 words a week might not be enough. Will probably be Tuesday/Wednesday and Friday/Saturday.
> 
> Thanks for reading (once again) and pleaseee leave kudos, share or leave a comment :))) thank u friends
> 
> Also, if you are interested I've started posting snippets of another thing i'm working on- my writing tumblr is storiesbykathryn.
> 
> p.s. We are definitely not close to end of their story yet!


	5. Stay Hydrated

That night at five p.m. Ash and Jay found themselves walking down the loud, bright main street of the nearby city centre; Jay with his hair out and wearing an old, black leather jacket, Ash wearing the same long-sleeved, snowy shirt and sporting loose curls in his hair. He looked like a God, and he refused to tell Jay how he styled his hair. Now he supposed it was some special warlock hair gel or something.

At first, Jay had his hands stuck straight in the pockets of his jacket. They didn’t talk much as they walked, it was too loud with the traffic besides them. He kept sneaking sideways looks at Ash; under the streetlights, he looked improbable. He exuded such confidence and mystique that now it seemed stupid that he hadn’t guessed some supernatural cause behind the man. After a while walking next to each other, Ash quickly slid his hand into the pocket of Jay’s jacket and clutched his hand. Now they were a couple, a normal couple walking down the street at night.

Jay took a deep breath of humid, early summer air to try and calm his heart. It didn’t work, but that was fine.

Finally, Jay pointed to one of the flashing, booming buildings they were going to walk by which he had frequented in the past. He explained that it was one of the more  _ mellow  _ clubs he had been to, not nearly as many people as the one he had gone to the previous night. Grasping each other’s hands confidently they entered the even more humid and lurid nightclub and without bothering to approach any of the shimmering-mirage like bars, they immediately fell into step on the dance floor.

For once, Jay didn’t need alcohol to feel ecstasy burning inside him. He kept discovering that with Ash it was easy to have fun. He appeared to be a great dancer,  _ No surprise there _ . His body seemed to mimic the wild energy of his electric hair. He was a volcano, dormant until he had the opportunity to erupt in a fiery cascade of movement. He was contagious. Jay found himself moving with almost the same energy as Ash when usually his movement was little and not very eclectic.  

It was like they were the only two people on earth as they danced together to the erratic beat the DJ procured. Jay found himself crying with laughter as they danced, mainly because Ash was grinning like a beautiful fool. There was no chance to converse under the suffocating lights and blaring music, but this wasn’t an issue.

After at least an hour of strenuous dancing, they decided to retire to a slightly quieter, less populated lounge area. They both collapsed next to each other on a low, red leather loveseat. Ash immediately rested his warm head on Jay’s shoulder and fanned himself with his hand. Jay looked sideways at him and grinned, he didn’t mind the extra heat.

“Great music here,” Ash said.

“You think?” Jay replied, “So you like this kind of techno, dance music stuff?”

“Yeah, I love it.” He thought of the huge speaker system back in Ash’s apartment.

“I haven’t heard you play music before.”

Ash smiled mysteriously, “I know. No one can hear it outside my apartment.” Jay deduced in that moment that Warlocks were also great at soundproofing.

“I’m kind of excited to find out all the stuff you can do.” He admitted, inclining his head so he could see Ash, who raised his head to face him. He smiled again.

“I hope you like surprises.”

There weren’t many people in the same seating area around them, so they proceeded to make out right there on the couch. Besides, who would stop them? The tangling of their hot hands and mouths together was another experience. This day had turned out to be very exhilarating for Jay; it was incomparable to any other day in his life. I mean, it wasn’t every day that a person ended up continuously sucking face with a sexy, blue-haired warlock.

Once again, the flashing lights and rhythmic pounding of the music called them both. They detached from each other foggily and walked hand in hand back into the throng of people. Jay couldn’t help but laugh again as his companion roughly grabbed his hands to pull him closer, with a look of faux aggression in his eyes as they grinded against each other. It didn’t last long before they were both falling apart with tears in their eyes when they discovered that their feeling of amusement towards that type of pseudo-erotic dancing was shared.

Suddenly, Jay became aware that he was feeling rather faint. He felt like he was swimming through the muggy atmosphere, and his heartbeat seemed as loud as the music in his ears. He stopped dancing for a moment to catch himself and calm down. Ash noticed and stopped dancing too. He must not have looked very well, for Ash grabbed his hand and looked at him, frowning in concern. Jay felt deaf; the music was like a dull roar, banging against his head painfully. Ash’s questions were mute. 

“I need-” he suddenly blurted out with difficulty, “-I need to-to go.” 

He started to stagger through the crowd and off the dance floor. Ash followed him anxiously. He managed to reach the same lounge area they had previously been kissing in, before falling unconsciously backwards into Ash. As he fell, the world spun into a myriad of sickening colours and sounds and shattered unceremoniously as he fell into the darkness.

*

It was a raw feeling, waking after fainting. Jay really didn’t enjoy the whole sensation very much as his stomach turned over and over. The only pleasure was seeing Ash as soon as his eyes reopened. When his eyes did open again, his vision was very much still fragmented; he was puzzled to see three people with blue hair and a white shirt. He reached out his arm weakly and tried to touch one of them, but as he did they all merged back into one alarmed looking Ash. Ash grabbed his hand and rubbed it affectionately. With his other hand, Ash brushed back Jay’s soaked hair from his face.

He realised then that he was sitting up against a wall, on cold, blue tiles. He assumed he was in the nightclub bathroom. Ash thrust a bottle of water into his hand and he drank it hurriedly. After a few quick, large mouthfuls Ash pulled it suddenly out of his mouth.

“Hey!” he cautioned, “Don’t drink so fast.” 

Jay narrowed his eyes at him and like a child,  _ sipped _ at the cool water sulkily. When his throat felt moist and useable again, he looked up at Ash’s crouching form.

“You fainted,” Ash said as if reading his gaze. “I think you were severely dehydrated.”

“Shouldn’t I be at the hospital then?” Jay gulped. He had heard of people dying -or getting close to- from dehydration in night clubs.

“Oh don’t worry about it,” he said dismissively. “I made sure you were okay.” He smiled mysteriously again like there was something undisclosed behind his actions. “But we should probably head home now. Fainting is terribly taxing on the body.”

“And you would know that because you’re a doctor and everything.” Jay retorted sarcastically. In all honesty, though, Jay did feel exhausted but otherwise fine.

That night, Ash escorted him by the arm all the way home. Secretly Jay was very relieved to have Ash there, but he didn’t like to show it. He was very protective of his pride, whereas Ash appeared to be protecting of  _ him _ . He wouldn’t let go of him the whole way and asked him incessantly if he was okay. When they got to the hallway where both their apartments doors stood facing each other, they both stopped. They looked at each other for a moment before Ash sighed.

“I suppose we should separate, we  _ did _ spend most of the day together.” There was a cheeky smirk playing upon his face as he said this. Jay got the feeling that Ash had thoroughly enjoyed it. “Don’t forget to drink some more water, okay?” 

Jay rolled his eyes light heartedly and said he would. 

“Well, goodnight Jay.”

Ash turned to open his door but Jay -with a strange surge of confidence- stopped him with his outstretched hand. When Ash turned back to him in confusion, he swiftly pressed his parted lips against his. Ash was actually  _ taken aback _ and for once  _ Jay _ was the unanticipated one. All the same, Ash leaned into him hard.

Jay pulled away with a sly smirk and said “Goodnight.” 

Ash blinked a couple of times, his usual smirk missing from his face and replaced with a look of bewilderment. He stood there blankly and watched as Jay unlocked his door and disappeared behind it. When he had gone, Ash started to unlock his door and laughed to himself,

“I underestimated that man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting to some of my favourite parts now (although I have a lot of favourite parts)- there's a lot of cute romance stuff coming up! Oh also we'll be meeting Jay's daughter next chapter :D
> 
> There will be some fantasy-ish (or supernatural I guess) elements later on.
> 
> I would really appreciate it if you leave a comment/kudos- let me know what you are enjoying so far :)
> 
> Also, follow me on my tumblr @storiesbykathryn and hmu <3
> 
> Oh and if anyone ever happens to come up with a better title idea then pleaaase let me know.


	6. I can't be her father

The next day Jay awoke with a huge grin on his face. He jumped up and excitedly dressed like a child on Christmas. The day was muggy, worse than the previous. Thankfully, it happened to be a public holiday.  _ No work! _

Coincidentally, just as he walked into the kitchen, his phone –which was sitting on the counter- started to buzz. He picked it up. It was Tahlia.

“Do you mind if we come over for a quick visit today?” she asked, “David has some stuff to do on your side of town.”

“Yeah, yeah of course.”

“Awesome, we’ll probably be there around 11 is that cool?”

“Yep, see you then.”

Jay supposed they would bring over Kasey for another bonding session. Kasey was his daughter’s name, and surprisingly Tahlia had let him choose it. 

Jay made breakfast as normal and spent time on his laptop on the internet for a while. He felt like he was stalling, waiting, for someone. He knew who. He was waiting for  _ Ash _ to come knocking on his door of course. He wondered if the previous day was all just a huge, stupid fantasy. Or maybe Ash wasn’t  _ really  _ Ash, but some guy posing as Ash who was now half-way across the country. 

“Stop it,” he muttered to himself, as he cleared his table of two used coffee mugs; they were some kind of evidence that proved yesterday had occurred. He thought guiltily of how he couldn’t wait to go and see Ash after his friends came and went.

True to their word, Tahlia and her boyfriend David arrived at eleven o’clock. In David’s arms was a flaxen haired, chubby little girl. She was quite pretty for a toddler, as pretty as an infant could be; she had big brown eyes and a thin layer of soft, yellow-blonde hair.  _ She looks like me,  _ he thought sombrely. She was only eight or so months old.

Jay smiled at her and laughed as she looked back at him shyly, with her tiny hand covering her mouth. He greeted the adults and invited them in; Tahlia deposited a full bag and sat with a huff onto his scruffy sofa. David offered Kasey to him and Jay held his hands out for her. She reached out to Jay with a little angelic smile, a smile that seemed to melt his heart every time. He accepted her and held her carefully, cooing to her, 

“How’s my little angel?” 

He tickled her and blew raspberries, making a shrill little laugh burst out of her. Tahlia and David watched on silently, he felt like they were  _ observing _ him, almost  _ scrutinizing  _ him. He never thought he would ever have kids or be any good with them. He was so often wrong. After a few minutes of playing with his daughter, he handed her back to David.

“She’s starting to get up now by herself,” Tahlia said, “I’m sure soon she’ll be walking off to get coffee by herself.” They all laughed. 

The prospect scared Jay; to watch his  _ own _ daughter grow up. He was only twenty two, still almost a child himself. He offered them a drink, Tahlia water –she didn’t drink anymore after the pregnancy- and Dave a beer. As he walked back into the kitchen, he heard Dave follow him.

“Can I just, talk to you for a moment?” he said. 

He sounded serious. Jay nodded.

David was your typical nice guy. He was a part-time professional piano player when he wasn’t working his day job in an office. He was pretty talented, Jay had been to one of his shows. He had plain, short, brown hair and a rigid jaw. Jay respected him; Dave treated Tahlia better than he ever had. 

Jay started to fill a cup with cooled water, Dave cleared his throat. 

“I understand that you don’t really want to...to act as Kasey’s father.” Jay turned abruptly with a frown. He wasn’t expecting him to bring up  _ that _ . 

“It’s just, I think Tahlia would really love to see you more in Kasey’s life, as her father. I mean, _ I _ don’t want to end up replacing you as her father.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy looking after Kasey, she’s a beautiful little soul, I just don’t want you to miss out on your daughter’s life.”

His spiel caught at Jay’s conscious and tugged it tightly. He knew what Dave was trying to say. He knew that Jay felt like an alien in this situation. He felt like he didn’t really deserve to be the father figure of his own daughter, he was hardly father material. He didn’t know what to say at first, he opened his mouth but no words came out. 

Finally, he answered:

“I- I really don’t know. I just don’t think I should be her father, you are much better with her than I am. I could be the uncle…or something. I really don’t think I’m capable of being any more than this, I just feel I have thrown the burden on your shoulders…and Tahlia’s.”

“Oh no, no,” he retorted light-heartedly, “Kasey is definitely not a burden! I just wondered if maybe, we could introduce you to Kasey as her dad sometime soon.”

Jay pressed his lips together and frowned deeper. “Dave, I know what it’s like to have an absent father. When I was really young, I would only see my dad every couple of days or every few weeks. He was a truck driver.” He explained,  “I don’t want my daughter to feel like her father doesn’t really care because he hardly sees her. I would rather introduce myself as her father when she is old enough to understand.” He didn’t add that he almost preferred that his daughter  _ never  _ found out.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m afraid so…”

Dave sighed and raked a hand through his hair, “Sorry, I just wanted to make sure.” He replied quietly. “I’m thinking of proposing to Tahlia soon.”

“Whoa, good on you!” Jay gasped, patting him on the shoulder. David smiled. 

“We’ve known each other for a couple of years now.”

“You have?”

“Yeah, we’ve kind of always been friends. We met at college.” He said. “Anyway, I heard from Tahlia that you’ve got  _ friendly _ with your neighbour, is that true?”

“Uh yeah, sort of,” Jay replied self-consciously. 

He grinned and playfully pat his shoulder as well. “That’s great. I’m glad you’ve finally found someone.” 

David grabbed his beer and walked back out the kitchen door. Jay stood there unmoving; Although Dave had meant the last comment in a kindly way, it still seemed to tug painfully at his consciousness. He was extremely aware that he was one of the rare people his age that had never been in a real relationship at all. He had managed to avoid relationships his entire life, with his only proper sexual encounter being with Tahlia, and very much a mistake. He supposed it didn’t help that he had kept his sexuality private. 

The trio only stayed half an hour longer. Jay played more with his daughter, feeling that he  _ owed  _ it to David to be more involved. Admittedly, he also adored her and loved her, but he was still not capable of seeing her as his own.  

Tahlia pulled him aside just before they left and quizzed him on his love affair. She demanded every detail of the previous day and ordered him to make it official with Ash as soon as possible. She didn’t want him to let this opportunity pass him by. He begrudgingly indulged her with a few of the details, he didn’t include their intense making out or the fact that he fainted at a nightclub. She seemed satisfied and pecked him on the cheek, 

“I hope this goes well for you Jay, I really do.” And she walked out the door after David.

 

Fifteen minutes passed. Jay grew restless lying on his couch; he couldn’t bear the silence and the lingering anymore. He jumped up and crossed the room, opening his door. His heart started to pound erratically. It hadn’t occurred to him that Ash might not still hold the same passion for Jay as yesterday; perhaps it had been a one time thing. Jay decided to be elusive, cautious...and not dive straight for Ash with his mouth.

Ash opened his door with a smile, dressed in blue skinny jeans which once again painfully accentuated his slim figure. He invited him in and started to chatter away about the weather and whatnot. Truthfully, Jay was only half listening; he was waiting for some kind of recognition from last night to jump out at him. A wink, a smirk, some kind of physical contact to confirm that yesterday had occurred.

“So, are you feeling better?” Ash asked as they both sat down on one of his smooth, leather lounges.

“Huh?”

“From last night” Ash explained, “When you were dehydrated.” 

_ Yes, Perfect. _

“Oh,” Jay replied, blushing. “Yeah I’m fine, whatever you did seemed to work.”

Now it was Ash’s turn to blush. “Well that’s good…” 

There was a long silence in which Jay stared at Ash, who was ruffling his own hair absent mindedly. He didn’t look at Jay but simply made his hair look a little crazier while staring down at his lap. Jay wasn’t sure if it was awkward or not; he wasn’t sure whether to break the silence.

“I had fun last night.” He said finally. Ash looked up with wide eyes and grinned. He didn’t answer but his familiar knowing smirk appeared. Jay shuffled closer to him on the lounge, staring deeply into his eyes.    
“I-uh” Jay began to stutter. 

Without warning, Ash launched himself on Jay and wrapped his arms around him.

Jay knew what this meant. He quickly leaned upwards and connected his lips. He too wrapped his arms around the warm body on top of him. Jay needn’t have worried; Ash acted  _ exactly  _ the same as the previous day. They tangled together like two colliding rockets; their passion filling them with energy.

Ash pushed his body against Jay roughly, like he was trying to remove the divide between them. They bumped noses, legs and arms as they moved around on the couch together. 

 

At least ten minutes later Jay was lying straight across the couch, cuddling Ash in his arms tenderly. They didn’t speak. Jay still couldn’t believe how instant everything was with Ash; one second they were casually talking and the next they were intensely making out. It was becoming a reflex action.

He moved his head so his face was buried in Ash’s hair; it was unusually soft and silky. It smelled like cinnamon, of all things. It reminded him of a freshly-baked apple pie. 

He thought of what Tahlia had pressed upon him before she left, but did he have the courage to do it? He told himself that there was nothing to lose, but was there? If Ash rejected him-which he hadn’t done yet- would things become sour between them? He dismissed the thought and closed his eyes for a moment to collect his thoughts. He released his arms from around Ash’s waist. Ash turned slightly to face him; his eyes were light and still like the water of a lake.

“This might be kind of sudden,” Jay began wearily, “But I don’t want to lose this-whatever this is.” 

His courage was diminishing; it was quickly draining out of him as colour rose to his neck. Ash watched him patiently, albeit with a confused look in the slight crease of his eyebrows. 

“Ash…Will you be my boyfriend?” Jay cringed inwardly at his puerile wording, but it wasn’t his fault; he hadn’t ever had any practice at this.

For a second his expression was unreadable. Then his lips stretched into a tell-tale grin and he nodded. Jay released the breath that he had unknowingly been keeping in.

“Of course I will.” He replied. “Guys like you don’t grow on trees.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so, that last part is a little bit cringe-worthy but that's how Jay is, it's the first time he's ever asked anyone out in his life. But it worked! 
> 
> I guess you can tell now that Jay has some issues, but he's trying.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Once again, If you're still enjoying this please leave a comment or kudos, I'm interested to know if anyone has any thoughts on the characters so far.
> 
> Next Chapter should be on Tuesday/Wednesday and it will provide some more insight into Ash and his warlock-ness. 
> 
> There hasn't been much magic yet, but the rest of the story involves quite a bit more, so look forward to that! I really love the rest of the story, and now we're over the orientation chapters :))


	7. Babysitting

Thus, they were officially dating. Each morning from then on Jay was greeted with a passionate kiss from Ash as he left for work, always greeted in a blue dressing gown.  He listened cheerily to his co-worker's petty problems -even offering his opinion once in awhile- and returned from work to be greeted by Ash’s lips again. Most nights were spent at either one of their houses; it was usually down to whose door Ash was standing outside each evening. Jay even started to introduce Ash to some of his favourite movies, while they ate a nice dinner together. Jay had never eaten so well before, Ash was such a great cook.

Jay started to discover more about what it meant to be dating a warlock. He surprised himself with how well he had seemed to take it. Perhaps his obsession with fantasy books and movies as a child made the transition to reality much smoother.

One night as Jay stood in front of Ash, who was making cocktails behind his kitchen counter, he finally decided to ask something he had been pondering, and worrying about since they had met.

“This could be a strange question but…How old are you?”

Ash looked up but didn’t stop mixing the pink and red drink in front of him. Jay couldn’t help staring at the small sparkles of light which were catching in the colourful liquid.

“That’s…hard to say.” He replied. Jay’s face contorted into one of disbelief, and cynicism. “Well, we don’t celebrate birthdays like  _ you  _ do.” He continued. Ash mistook his shocked expression for that of sadness, for he then lamented: “Don’t worry I still celebrate human birthdays!”

“But surely you must have an idea of how long you’ve…existed!” 

Jay was beginning to worry he had started dating a one thousand year old guy.

“Hmm, well I would say about fifty or so years.” 

_ Surely he’s kidding _ , He thought. “Y-You don’t look fifty!” He spluttered. Ash’s smirk appeared as he tried to contain laughter.

“Yes because my  _ biological age  _ is something like…twenty five.” He explained. That somewhat calmed Jay. “I vaguely recall that when I was about twenty something I halted my biological aging, and I decided that when I had lived for about fifty years, half a century, I would ‘turn it back on’ and age normally. That was last year I think.”

“That’s…crazy.” Jay breathed. Ash handed him the cocktail and he sipped it slowly and thoughtfully. Ash moved around the counter and moved a piece of hair from Jay’s face. 

“Are you freaked out yet?” He asked, fingering the crease of Jay’s shirt at his hip. His heart was thumping strongly. The cocktail was amazing. It was also quite strong.

“Never.” He breathed, this time not regretting his word choice.

Ash chuckled. “That’s a bold statement. I’ve still got more to show, you know? “He sipped at his own cocktail while still staring at Jay. “I’ll give you a year’s grace to change your mind and run screaming. After that, you can’t complain…or run away from me screaming.” He leaned forward and kissed Jay on the tip of his nose.

 

The next morning walking to work he couldn’t stop thinking about how his boyfriend was technically almost thirty years older than him.  _ Is he immortal? Am I going to die before him?  _ He quickly tried to shove those thoughts out of his mind. It wasn’t worth thinking about it. He had to enjoy the moment and forget about what came next, just like Ash does.

As he walked he got a call from Tahlia. He had to divert down an alley way to escape the loud and harsh sounds of the morning traffic. David had a last minute super important gig to go to that night and she had to go too. She asked if Jay could go over to their place and look after Kasey until they got back later at night. How could he refuse? Besides, he needed to spend more time with his daughter. 

Ash would be disappointed, they had planned to watch his favourite movie, some romantic comedy which apparently involved a lot of sex and sex related puns. He was inwardly glad that he would be missing this, he wasn’t sure he was ready to sit through something like that with Ash.

He was right. After receiving a rather rough but loving hug from Ash when he returned from work, Jay broke the bad news. Ash pouted in a rather comical fashion as if trying to guilt Jay.

“Come on, you know that it’s important I spend time with my daughter.” He said, pretending to wipe tears from Ash’s face.

 

Jay had only recently told Ash that he had a child. Once again, it was something that had completely surprised Ash. However, it didn’t take long for his shock to devolve into teasing about his sleeping with a woman.

“I thought you were  _ incredibly gay _ , Jay?” he said in faux shock. “I guess I’ll have to throw out that rainbow coloured shirt I was going to give you for your birthday.”

Jay had proceeded to playfully attack Ash, pinning him to the couch and kissing all over his face in an aggressive fashion. That was the first time he heard his boyfriend giggle.

 

Jay arrived at Tahlia and David’s apartment at six, and he walked immediately into chaos.   
“Dave! David! Where did you put my black high heels that I wore the other day?” He heard this yell from the room on the left.

“How would I know?”  This came from the right.

It took a few minutes of back and forth before Tahlia finally came stomping out the left doorway. There she started as she noticed Jay standing in the hallway. She greeted him with immense relief, saying they were already running late and that Kasey was in her play pen in the living room. He bid her a good night and yelled out the same to Dave in the other room before going to find Kasey.

She was, as Tahlia had said, in her hexagonal shaped play pen in front of the Television. He said hello to her and picked her up, she smiled at him and proceeded to reach out with her tiny fist to grab his hair. He laughed and held the piece of hair close to her to tug on. He hoped the night would be easy on him, and that he wouldn’t think too much of Ash.

He was right. His daughter was much less a handful, more wrapped around his finger. She hardly cried and She ate most of what was fed to her, especially when presented like an aeroplane, surprisingly. This had never fooled  _ him _ as a child, although he was not fooled by anything his parents had tried. He was born a cynic.

Something that had not occurred to him until he was sitting in front of their television, while Kasey napped in her nearby cot, was that Ash didn’t own a mobile phone. Or at least he had never seen him use one.  _ How did he survive in this modern day?  _ Perhaps he was a traditionalist. Or, more likely, he had some  _ magic warlock-y  _ method of contacting people. He would have to ask him sometime. It would have been nice to have had contact with him at that moment.

Tahlia and David arrived back at eleven. He had just started to nod off as it was his own bed time, but the mechanical sound of locks being opened quickly snapped him awake. He heard muffled laughter and whispering.

He met Tahlia in the doorway to the living room. Her face was unusually bright and he thought he saw evidence of prior tears in her eyes and on her cheeks. She greeted him with a crushing hug, for some reason, before proceeding to hold up her left hand right in front of his face. There attached to one of her fingers was a shining amethyst jewel on a silver band. 

“He proposed!” She cried, elaborating on her happiness. “He proposed at the end of his show. He called me up and-and asked me. It was so embarrassing I wanted to kill him!” she laughed, and Jay couldn’t help smiling broadly back at her. He hadn’t seen her so happy before.

“I’m so happy for you…” he said, hugging her again. He smiled as he saw David, who had fetched Kasey. 

He stayed for another fifteen minutes and watched as they laughed and talked together about the future and the past. He felt alien, but he couldn’t help marvelling at the happiness shared by the couple. Did he see his future in this image? Did he want this future? Could he even have this future? 

It didn’t matter right now. He pushed those thoughts from his mind and said goodbye.

“Are you going to be alright getting back? There’s a space here on the couch for you tonight if you want.” She asked, the genuine concern in her voice making him falter for a second. He politely declined.

***

Leaning into the blue fog emanating images of symbols and concentric circles, Ash called to the other side.

Vague and threatening images entered his mind. Men, at least 3, wearing black ski masks, carrying knives. Jay: blood running down his arm. 

It was enough. 

He turned away for a moment. Collecting himself he returned to the fog and uttered: “ _ Semper Servans. _ ”

***

As Jay walked down the dark steps of the apartment block, he began hearing faint voices. He snapped to look behind him. No one there. It was the same voice over and over, echoing something. It sounded almost familiar. He had to stop and assess whether he had taken anything which could make him hallucinate. 

Maybe this was the onset of some fatal disease or insanity. He began to panic as the voice increased in volume. Looking out into the quiet darkness of the street he thought for a moment he could see dark figures, lingering by an alleyway. Another hallucination or mind trick? 

Perhaps it would be best if he didn’t make the journey across town if he was beginning to feel unwell. He wasn’t usually afraid of walking home at night, but in that moment he felt particularly vulnerable and unsure.

 

Thankfully, Tahlia let him back in and let him crash on the sofa bed. He fell asleep almost straight away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some ominous and cute stuff in this chapter :)))
> 
> I'm feeling a bit ehhh about posting this at the moment, but I usually change my mind every few days. Even if no one reads this (except that one person-thanks friend <3) I'm going to keep publishing it.
> 
> If you are reading this, I would love to know what you think (also kudos are veeery appreciated thank you- they let me know that i should keep going). Don't be shy (like me).


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